Freeze It!

I spent a couple hours in the kitchen today. And I didn't even cook anything new for supper.

What was I doing, you ask?

Cleaning, chopping, and prepping produce for the freezer.

A few weeks ago I read a blog about once-a-month shopping and how to make fresh produce last all month long. This chick has some FABULOUS tips and tricks!

I know that I can't be the only one who throws out produce because it has spoiled before I can use it all up. So, to make my dollar stretch further and keep produce usable longer, I decided to freeze a bunch of it.

The freezer bags cost $1.99, and there are 50 of them. It will probably take a few months to go through that many. And I have a bajillion Sharpie markers already. That's a small price to pay to make sure I use all of that beautiful produce before it goes bad!

So I spent the Munchkin's nap time cleaning and chopping stuff up.

Does anyone else think of that quote from Ratatouille every time you use a knife and cutting board? I do. Every single time.

This is what I ended up with:

I have two 1# bags of strawberries, 1 bag of blueberries, 2 bags of chopped green pepper, 3 bags of sliced baby carrots, and 4 bags of chopped onions.

I didn't know if I could chop up potatoes or not, so I didn't... but you can. So I will, before my potatoes get too much older.

Now, since I'm OCD, I made sure to measure how much went into each bag. That way when I'm using them in a recipe, I can easily calculate the calories. Did I mention that the Hubby and I are on a "diet"? Well we are. We're using MyFitnessPal, and the feature I love the most is the Recipe Tool. They have GINORMOUS database of ingredients, and you can put in your exact measurements, select how many servings the recipe makes, and VOILA! Calorie count. It's approximate, but it's a great way to keep track of  what you eat. And the best part? You can save your recipes so the next time you can just look it up.

ANYway, I've spent just a little time today prepping all of this produce. But the next time I need chopped onion for tacos, chili, or whatever, it is DONE. 

Anyone with kids knows that fixing dinner (in a timely fashion) can feel like a three-ring circus act. 

And I've just shaved 5 precious minutes off of that time. 

Woohoo!

So do you have some extra produce laying around, getting ready to become money thrown away? Grab some freezer bags, a Sharpie, a knife and a cutting board, and save it before it is too late! 

And then when you need a cup of green pepper for a recipe and you can just whip it out of the freezer, already chopped and beautiful, you'll have a Super Mom moment. :-)